It’s Blends Bash! (If you don’t know what that is, the lovely folks at The Book Club Cookbook send out samples of their spice blends–all inspired by television shows, movies, and songs–to special bloggers like me. And then we go all creative with them).
Today I am bringing to you a recipe that features their song blend, Chai a Little Tenderness.
Chai a Little Tenderness is, obvi, a homage to the song Try a Little Tenderness, made famous by Otis Redding (and Jon Cryer’s Lip Sync For Your Life from Pretty in Pink).
However, when I think of Try a Little Tenderness, my mind goes straight to the 1991 Irish film The Commitments directed by Alan Parker
If you are unfamiliar with the film, here’s the gist of it–a group of (mostly) unemployed Dubliners come together to form a soul band. Hijinks ensue.
The movie culminates in a epic, barn burner performance of Try a Little Tenderness.
Long story short–for Blends Bash I decided to go Irish.
I found a recipe for an Irish bread called Barmbrack from Volume 6 of the Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery.
Halloween in Ireland would be un-thinkable without barmbrack–the sweet and sticky-crusted loaf which foretells one’s fortune for the coming year. Into the dough we knead (paper-wrapped to guard against choking or appendicitis) a ring for marriage, a silver coin for wealth, and a button for single-blessed-ness
AWESOME! A fortune-telling Halloween bread…HOLD ON. WHAT ABOUT APPENDICITIS?
I didn’t use the 1966 recipe, however. I went searching on the internet and found other Barmbrack recipes. I ended up using this one from The Daring Gourmet.
3 1/2 cups (450g) all-purpose flour
I took the recommendation and made my own candied citrus peel.
Really easy and successful!
Scrape down the dough from the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 90-120 minutes or until doubled in size.
Punch down the dough. If making two smaller loaves, divide the dough in half and shape into rounds. If making one large loaf (as pictured), place the dough in a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan.
Here is my finished Irish Halloween Bread with a Irish Coffee. I not only sprinkled some Chai a Little Tenderness on top of the drink, when I made the whipped cream, I put a healthy amount in the milk.
The Irish Coffee was reaaaaally good. I don’t think I had ever had one before.
Ok, the Barmbrack. This was a fucking brick. I mean, not a surprise considering that it was made with a pound of flour and over 2 cups of dried/candied fruit–but this was a dense-ass bread.
It is really tasty–the spice and the fruit is absolutely lovely–but the Barmbrack is so thick that it is hard to eat. It truly does need to be warmed and slathered with butter and served with a delicious Irish Coffee.
The Chai a Little Tenderness is a winner. It would be a nice addition to any sort of autumnal or Christmas baked good.
Oh! I never put the trinkets into the bread. I was afraid of choking. And appendicitis.***
Join me again on November 10 and December 1 for two more dishes featuring a TV Blend and a Movie Blend!
***Seriously, does anyone know about this appendicitis thing???
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Got two loafs in the bathroom.
Beds looks great! I’ve not had it in years.
Appendicitis is very rarely caused by ingesting foreign bodies (like rings!!!), though decades ago was believed to be a leading cause. My Nanna was always paranoid about giving us unpitted cherries etc because “a grape seed gave uncle Mark appendicitis”.
Bread & coffee look fantastic!
THIS LOOKS AMAZING!! And welcome to the world of Irish Coffee :)
That bread looks really good, although I wouldn't want to drop it on my foot! I wonder what kind of French toast it would make (we make FT out of panettone and povitica -- if we don't eat all of it right away!).
It's a good idea, but the bread crumbles so easily that it wouldn't stand up to french-toasting.
Mr. Sauce tried some last night and he HATED it.